Athletes competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games have been banned from wearing headphones made by anyone other than official partner Panasonic. This includes members of Team GB, who have been spotted during the live broadcasts sporting British-themed Beats by Dr Dre headsets.

Tom Daley was seen wearing a pair before his first diving medal attempt, while Team GB's goalkeeper Jack Butland tweeted his love for the brand. Female tennis player Laura Robson also allegedly tweeted about her Beats, but withdrew the posting soon after.

Now, British Olympic Association spokesperson Darryl Siebel has said that officials have reminded team leaders of "the importance of protecting our corporate partners" and pointed out that rules are in place that prevent competitors from promoting commercial products and brands during the Olympic Games.

The International Olympic Committee has a rule, rule 40, which allows organisers to disqualify competitors who promote their own sponsors, either on the field of play or online. It is believed that the field of play also includes the area behind starting blocks in the Aquatics Centre, for example.

This also applies to Twitter postings.

As some competitors need to listen to music or recordings as part of their preparations, Siebel is urging Team GB athletes to switch to sponsor Panasonic's devices instead.

Pocket-lint is pretty sure that Beats by Dr Dre will be more than happy with the further publicity this new development has brought.

You can also check out our review of the top of the range Beats Pro by Dr Dre headphones. Check out the sort of thing our Olympic Games athletes won't be wearing in the next week or so...

Our senior ed of news and features has been a tech and games journalist for more than 27 years, and has been with Pocket-lint for over five. Rik has edited a number of videogame magazines in the past, was deputy editor of Home Cinema Choice, and his TV career included stints as co-presenter of Channel 4's Gamesmaster and Sky One’s Games World.